|
UK: Britain Must Learn
Lessons From Libya Crisis |
|
London, UK, December 3, 2011 — Britain should
consider changing its policy on recognizing
self-declared nations after it lagged behind others
in legitimizing the rebel council in Libya, the
country's national security adviser said Thursday in
a report on the conflict.
Along with recommendations for speedier operations
to evacuate citizens from danger zones and a call
for Britain to exert more influence within NATO,
Peter Ricketts said London should re-examine the
diplomatic cornerstone of recognizing states, not
governments.
Read full text.
|
|
|
|
By Chris Newmarker
Minneapolis, MN, December 3, 2011 – Franklin
National Bank of Minneapolis is finding a source of
capital, as well as potential revenue, in the city’s
growing African immigrant community.
Last August, the bank opened a location, its fourth,
at the Karmel Mall at 2910 Pillsbury Ave. in
Minneapolis, a retail hub nicknamed the “Mall of
America for the Somalis.” Within four months, the
600-square-foot location generated $1 million worth
of deposits, an amount Franklin Bank President Frank
Fuller had not expected for at least a year.
“The money we bring in can be loaned anywhere,”
Fuller said.
Read full text.
|
|
|
|
Mogadishu, Somalia, December 3, 2011 - Fighter jets
bombed an Islamist militant base in southern Somalia
on Friday, residents and soldiers said, as
neighboring Kenya continued its offensive against
the rebels.
Kenya, which has carried out air strikes in the
past, did not immediately acknowledge
responsibility. Its troops entered Somalia almost
two months ago vowing to wipe out the al Shabaab
rebel group it accuses of being behind attacks on
tourists, aid workers and security forces on its
soil.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
UPDF soldiers listen to Commander of Reserve
Forces, during a pass out of 1700
soldiers of the ninth |
Kampala, Uganda, December 3, 2011 – Another group of
UPDF troops has been passed out and will join the
African union peace keeping mission in Somalia
replacing one of the battle groups at the war-torn
Mogadishu.
A total of 2,369 soldiers were passed out on Friday
at Singo training camp after undergoing four months
of intensive training at international peace support
training center in Nairobi and Karama armored
warfare training school in Mubende.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
James Barton
Mogadishu, Somalia, December 3, 2011 – Financial
transactions via mobile phone will soon be possible
in ungoverned East African nation of Somalia. Mobile
solutions provider Comviva has announced a
partnership with service provider NationLink – one
of Somalia’s leading operators – to launch its
‘e-maal’ mWallet service.
The new mobile money service will be available
across Somalia and will cater to under-banked and
unbanked segments of the population. It supports
multiple transactional methods, including
cash-to-bank, cash-to-cash, cash-to-wallet and
wallet-to-wallet to maximize service access. The
service fully complies with regulations and benefits
from a robust, open ecosystem of multiple banks,
money transfer operators, billers and service
providers.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR
spokesperson Andrej Mahečić – to whom quoted text
may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 2
December 2011, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Hundreds of Somali refugees in southern Ethiopia's
Dollo Ado region have been relocated from an
overcrowded transit center to a new camp, Bur Amino.
The camp was opened on Wednesday and became the
fifth one in the Dollo Ado region. The first group
of some 400 refugees has been moved by bus from the
transit centre to Bur Amino, 26 kilometers away. On
arrival, the visibly relieved refugees underwent
health and nutrition screening before being shown to
their tents and given hot meals.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Photo: UNHCR/J.Björgvinsson
Hundreds of families have returned from
Yemen in the past two months, officials
said (file photo) |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 – Continuing
unrest and xenophobia in Yemen have prompted an
upsurge in the number of migrants and refugees
returning to Somaliland and Somalia, with up to
6,000 reported to have travelled back across the Red
Sea since the beginning of October.
"About 400 Somaliland families and 600 Somali
families have returned to Somaliland in the last two
months,” said Abdillahi Hussein Egeh,
director-general of the Interior Ministry in
Somaliland, which unilaterally declared its
independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
San Diego, CA, December 3, 2011 – A Somali immigrant
living in California pleaded guilty Thursday in
federal court to providing money and personnel to
Somalia's Al-Shabaab militants.
Nima Yusuf, 25, admitted she had entered into an
agreement with four other Somali immigrants to
provide material support to the Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda
linked group that controls much of central and
southern Somalia.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
According to the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index,
Somalia and North Korea are the most corrupt
governments, while New Zealand and Finland are the
least corrupt, Transparency International said
Thursday.
"This year we have seen corruption on protestors'
banners be they rich or poor," Huguette Labelle,
chairwoman of Transparency International, said
during the release of the index.
"Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab
world starting a new political era, leaders must
heed the demands for better government."
The report documents "governments failing to protect
citizens from corruption, be it abuse of public
resources, bribery or secretive decision-making," TI
said.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
|
Somaliland On China Radio International: 2011-10-10
Phantom States |
|
|
Interview
On Chinese-Somaliland Agreement |
Click
here to
listen to
Radio France
Internationale's
interview
with Jamal
Gabobe about
the
agreement
between
Somaliland
and Chinese
investors.
The
Interview
|
|
Kenyan Prime Minister
Praises Somaliland |
Nairobi,
Kenya,
December 3,
2011 (SL
Times) –
Kenyan Prime
Minister
Raila Odinga
praised
Somaliland
as a country
that has
been
struggling
for
independence
for the last
twenty years
and is a
role model
for others.
He
contrasted
Somaliland
with
Somalia,
saying
although he
does not
want to
interfere in
Somali
affairs,
Somaliland
has done a
lot of good
things,
whereas
Somalia has
not, and
that it is
time to
distinguish
between
those who
are doing
positive
things from
those who
have not
done
anything
positive.
Read full text...
|
|
President Sillanyo Returns |
|
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) –
President Ahmed Silanyo returned this week from
about a month’s trip abroad which he mostly spent in
the UK, with stops in Ethiopia and Djibouti.
He was welcomed at the airport by members of
Somaliland government led by Vice President
Abdirahman Ismail Zayla'i, the Speaker of Parliament
Abdirahman Irro and the Chairman of Kulmiye Party,
Muse Bihi.
Read full text...
|
|
“Somaliland Conducted Vice Versa, And I Fear They
Have Put The Cart Before The Horse” |
“In 2016, I will go. This time, I can swear”
Djibouti President, Ismail Omar Guelleh – Exclusive
Interview by Jeune Afrique
Djibouti, December 3, 2011 – The Head of State, Mr.
Ismail Omar Guelleh, has recently granted a long
interview with the weekly Jeune Afrique.
When asked by our famous colleague François Sudan,
President of the Republic said bluntly that he would
not stand in 2016 and he was doing was his third and
final term.
Read full text...
|
|
Somaliland Vice President Inaugurates Regional Games |
Buroa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) –
Somaliland Vice President Abdirahman Abdillahi
Ismail (Zayla’i) officially declared the start
of Somaliland regional competitions at the
Alamzey stadium in Buroa, Togdheer region.
Read full text...
|
|
Presidential Guard
Assaults Haatuf Reporter |
|
Hargeysa,
Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) – A member
of President Ahmed Silanyo’s presidential guards
assaulted Haatuf reporter Nasir Adan Muhammad (Nawaa)
this week.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) –
Ahmed Muhammad Shaqalle is one of Somaliland’s youth
who are concerned about the use and development of
the Somali language.
He expressed his concern and fears for the situation
of the Somali language at the publication ceremony
of a book entitled “Darka Maada”.
Mr Shaqalle said although the change in government
had affected many areas of life in the country, it
has not yet touched the Somali language. He pointed
that Somaliland used to be a leader in cultivating
and advancing the Somali language but lately it had
not been playing that role which is being assumed by
Djibouti.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) –
Parliamentarian Muhammad Farah Qabile lauded the
positive statements that the Prime Minister of
Kenya, Raila Odinga, had recently made about
Somaliland, and welcomed the prime minister’s desire
to visit Somaliland.
Mr Qabile said the visit of the Kenyan Prime
Minister would be a boost for Somaliland's
international recognition. He also urged leaders of
other neighboring countries to follow the example of
the Kenyan prime minister.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Buroa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) – The
opening game of Somaliland’s regional competition
took place in Togdheer region between Hargeysa and
Togdheer soccer teams. It was a tough game and both
teams made great efforts. Both teams also squandered
good chances for scoring.
Read full text....
|
|
|
|
Buroa, Somaliland, December 3, 2011 (SL Times) –
Awdal region played against Sool in the second game
of Somaliland regional soccer competitions. Awdal
team spent most of the first half on the offense,
but things were reversed during the second half
where Sool outplayed Awdal.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Police Appeal After
Woman Beaten Up And Raped In Kilburn |
|
Police
would like to speak to the two men pictured |
Victim left in a critical condition
London, UK, December 3, 2011 – Detectives
investigating an assault and rape that has left a
woman fighting for her life have released CCTV
images of two men they would like to trace.
Read full text...
|
|
Iranian Press TV
Accused Of Faking Drone Strike Reports |
|
Washington, December 3, 2011 – The channel, which is
based in Tehran and broadcasts around-the-clock in
English, claims that more the 1,370 people have been
killed in 56 drone strikes since September - an
average of 24 deaths per attack.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Election officials in Cairo on Wednesday
counted ballots that were cast in the first
round of parliamentary elections this week. |
Cairo, Egypt, December 3, 2011 — Islamists claimed a
decisive victory on Wednesday as early election
results put them on track to win a dominant majority
in Egypt’s first Parliament since the ouster of
Hosni Mubarak, the most significant step yet in the
religious movement’s rise since the start of the
Arab Spring.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Calestous Juma
One of the noticeable things across Africa these
days is how many people have cell phones—71 percent
of adults in Nigeria, for example, 62 percent in
Botswana, and more than half the population in Ghana
and Kenya, according to a 2011 Gallup poll.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
"Currently the rate of HIV infection in Somaliland
is estimated at one percent," said Dr. Adele Cowper,
Medair Health Project Manager in Somaliland.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
By Simon Bradley in Geneva
If an elderly woman can build a hospital, everyone
has the potential to move humanitarian mountains if
they put their mind to it, says Edna Adan Ismail.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
By Quentin
Letts
Perorating in yesterday’s debate about north Africa
and the Middle East, Foreign Secretary William Hague
said that his role – and that, by Jove, of Her
Britannic Majesty’s Government – was ‘showing
leadership’ to the world. It was also about
‘providing tangible support to democratic
transitions’.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
By Richard Dowden, Royal African Society
The model for Somalia is Switzerland. Don’t laugh!
Political power in Switzerland lies in the cantons —
the 26 proud self-governing communities. The state,
such as it is, deals with international matters and
national law.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
Government Officials Need To Spend Less Time At The Airport And
More Time At Work |
It has become
a common occurrence in Somaliland to see government
ministers abandoning their offices and rushing to the
airport whenever the president is leaving the country or
arriving. Some ministers have developed such a fetish for
airports that they seem to be always looking for an excuse
to be there. They do not only make sure that they are at the
airport when the president is going to be there, they even
go to the airport when other ministers or officials are
leaving or arriving at the airport. If this airport fetish
is an affliction from which only a few ministers suffered,
we might have ignored it, but the list of those who suffer
from it is growing, and that is why we are drawing attention
to it. Worse yet, lately, even director generals from some
ministries have caught the disease, as was the case during
the arrival of President Ahmed Sillanyo from his UK trip,
when many director generals left their ministries and lined
up at the airport to welcome back the president.
Read full text...
|
|
|
|
There Is Still A Long
Way To Go Mr. President |
|
By Yusuf Dirir Ali
Mr. President, in comparison to your predecessors
you have accomplished a lot in a very short period.
To mention few of your administration’s
accomplishments; you doubled the salaries of the
civil servants. You gave school fees brake to the
primary school kids. Your administration carried out
a partial transformation of the justice system. The
old Somalia currency circulation was ended in
Togdheer region and replaced with Somaliland
currency. A Somaliland TV is on the air and can be
watched all over the world. A radio station that
will serve the nation from Selal to Sanaag is on the
works. Compared to your predecessors, these are
compelling achievements; however, these are not
enough, because our nation was aspiring to achieve
even more under your leadership. From now on, we
would prefer not to hear the past triumphs of your
administration, but instead would like to know more
about where we are strategically heading and what we
need to achieve.
Read full text...
|
|
The Hush Hush Trip Of
Mr. Sillanyo! |
|
Somaliland President Ahmed MM Sillanyo in
London. Photo: Hamse Ahmed Salan |
By Ibrahim M. Hassan
Mr. Ahmed MM Sillanyo was in London last month. Why
is he there? No one knows. He and his entourage
(including the young energetic Dr. Mohamed
Abdillahi) have failed to tell their own people why
is the president is in London now.
Is he vacationing at his London home? Is he seeing
his doctors? Is he seeing his British government
counterpart(s)? Or is he really partying? No one
knows.
Why ask these questions?
Well, the president was elected last year on the
promise that he will work honestly for his own
people and that he will not waste their hard earned
tax money. You see, Mr. Sillanyo and his entourage
are spending a lot of money now (hundreds of
thousands of dollars) on this trip alone and yet no
one knows why should the people spend so much money
on this trip, and the people have the right to know.
Why is the trip a hush hush thing? No one is saying
whether Mr. Sillanyo is in London for a personal
reason or for an official one. Either explanation is
okay, but the people have the right to know.
Read full text....
|
|
J. Webber: Somalis Are
Committed |
|
By Judy Webber
I am writing to express my concern about some
statements made by Robert Macdonald as a candidate
for the office of mayor of Lewiston (Nov. 29). I
believe that, during Monday's mayoral debate, he
implied that Lewiston’s Somali residents are content
to live on welfare, with no interest of holding a
job or improving themselves.
I am a retired teacher who now volunteers three
mornings a week tutoring Somali residents at the
Lewiston Adult Learning Center on Birch Street. The
students who are in my class are just beginning
their education in learning English and beginning
reading skills.
They are there to learn English so that they can get
a job or help their children in school, or
understand what they are hearing at a doctor’s
office, etc. They attend faithfully, good weather or
not. Their commitment to being part of the Lewiston
community is impressive. The waiting list is long.
Read full text......
|
|
Putting Somalia Into
An AU Trusteeship Is The Only Option |
|
After the defeat of Al-Shabaab, the African Union
should take responsibility for Somalia, argues
Robert Rotberg.
By Robert
Rotberg
When the heavy rains let up, Kenyan soldiers will be
able to continue their advance on Kismayo, Ethiopian
troops will take Baidoa, and Ugandan and Burundian
peacekeepers may be able to completely clear
Somalia’s capital Mogadishu of al-Shabaab militants.
Al-Shabaab rebels have been in control of large
swathes of southern Somalia but reports from the
field suggest that the Islamist group’s draconian
strictures on women, schools, music, and
international relief efforts have already ended
whatever popular following it once had. Nor is its
self-proclaimed alliance with al-Qaeda likely to
afford the group continued legitimacy or an enduring
role in the volatile south of the country.
Al-Shabaab’s days as a sustainable and robust
fighting force are rapidly coming to an end. The
losses of Kismayo, Baidoa, Mogadishu and other
southern towns will prove financially costly since
al-Shabaab’s revenue stream derives substantially
from fees, duties, and taxes on trafficked consumer
imports and agricultural exports through those
towns. The loss of its strategic centers and,
conceivably, the fertile Juba River valley, will
therefore cripple al-Shabaab as a movement and an
ideologically cohesive Islamist enterprise. Its
soldiers, after all, have to be paid, and al-Shabaab
cannot battle on without costly ammunition and
weapons.
Read full text......
|
|
|
